Brazil's fishery council calls for tax exemption for seafood processors

Brazil's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Council (CONEPE) is launching a new legislative offensive to guarantee tax exemptions for the seafood processing industries.

The seafood processing sector should have the same treatment as meatpackers, who are exempted from tax, according to the president of CONEPE, Fernando Ferreira.

It is a question of fairness, and it is impractical that fish should cost much more than beef, said Ferreira.

The exemption indicates an annual fiscal reduction of BRL100 million (US$58.2 million), which translates into a price reduction of eight percent in the final fish price paid by consumers.

The fiscal exemption would also help reduce the deficit of the fishing trade balance, which increased from US$277.6 million from Jan-Sep 2008 to US$340 million in the same period this year.

The deficit reflects a 35-percent decline in exports.